10.12.12
HS2 opponents jump on Virgin peak passenger figures
Official figures show that almost half the seats on Virgin’s peak-time evening trains on the West Coast Main Line were empty last year. This undermines the Government’s arguments for HS2, opponents have suggested, if WCML capacity is less of an issue than some suggest.
The data was released as councils continue with their judicial review against the project.
Capacity has been highlighted as a key driver for HS2, with space on the network filling up quickly. But in 2011, long-distance Virgin trains leaving Euston on weekdays between 4pm and 7pm had 52.5% of seats occupied. This is down from 54.2% in 2008.
However, crowding is worse in the first hour of off-peak, as tickets are far cheaper. Greengauge 21 pointed out that London Midland, which runs commuter services on the WCML, was at 94% capacity, with traffic levels increasing by 4% a year.
The result of the judicial review is expected early in the new year.
Martin Tett, leader of Buckinghamshire county council, one of 18 local authorities which have combined to bring the case, said: “These numbers blow apart the last prop of the Government’s argument for HS2. The business case for the line has already collapsed. Their argument was all about capacity.”
Greengauge 21 director Jim Steer said: “The important point that anti-HS2 campaigners fail to acknowledge is that the best way to free up capacity for commuters in the fast-growing Milton Keynes-Northampton corridor is to take the Virgin Trains services off the line and free it up for more commuter services and for more freight services.
“Our studies have shown that a transformed timetable can be offered, supporting growth, relieving serious overcrowding which is coming just a few years down the line and getting a lot of lorries off the road network.”
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Image c. Ewan Munro